He walked again to the window; an old man; bone-weary, with the weight of his sixty-odd years bending his shoulders like a brick-carrier's hod. "_Then I'll go to the bank and get some more._" He hadn't even fooled himself this time. His chances at the bank were nil. Less than nil. His very presence there could tip the balance of their decision. Loans could be called; the doors locked before nightfall. At the window, he lowered his eyes from the sky and looked to the gate that led into the horseshoe sweep of low buildings and back to the great, bulking hangar where precious work was being done. A man and his dream, Lake mused. He could see only the back of the sign hanging over the gate, but he was quite familiar with the other side. _Lake Interstellar Enterprises_ in bold, brave letters; and in the lower right-hand corner--barely discernible--_Joshua Lake--President_. * * * * * A visitor looking closely at the sign could see that it had been done over--that a discarded legend lay beneath a coat of white paint. The old name of the firm was still faintly visible: _Lake and Gorman--Castings and Extrusions_. It wasn't difficult for Joshua to conjure up Lee Gorman's craggy, hostile face. Nor his words. Lee had a voice like gravel being ground to powder. A voice to remember.... "Of course I won't go along with this damn-fool idea of yours! Turn a perfectly sound, entrenched business into a blue-sky factory? You've gone crazy, Joshua." "But it's feasible, Lee! Entirely feasible. All we need is a little imagination. I've investigated. I've hired the best brains in the world. I have all the necessary preliminary data. A rocket _can_ be built that will take three men to the Moon and bring them back!" "That's idiocy, Joshua!" "Don't you believe it can be done?" "I don't care whether it can be done or not!" "But open your eyes, man! This is an age of development. An era of movement. We're on the threshold of the big tomorrow, and we can't let it pass us by! We can't let the honor and the glory go to others while we sit on our hands and hoot from the gallery! Come alive, Lee! The world is passing us!" "I don't want honor and glory. All I want is a sound going business. Suppose we could put a rocket on the Moon and bring it back? Where would that leave us? Broke and famous. And laughed at probably in the bargain." "Nothing of the kind. We could write our own ticket. We'd control the gateway to the greatest mineral deposits within reach of Man! Think of it, Lee. Use your imagination." "I won't go along with you, Joshua. That's all there is to it." More of the same; days of it, and finally: "You can have the customers then, Lee. I'll keep the plant--the physical properties." "But that's not fair." "Perhaps not, but it's legal." "How can I service them--from my basement?" "I offered you an alternative only a fool would have turned down--" "That only a fool would accept!"